Flavio Al Velavevodetto in Testaccio

UPDATE OCTOBER 2015: Flavio back on notice after a shocking number of complaints by visitors who cite miserable service and inconsistent food. Waaaay back in December 2012, I wrote a post in which I put Flavio al Velavevodetto (and few other places) on notice. That year, Flavio, a Testaccio-based restaurant specializing in traditional Roman fare, had gone from being completely satisfying to wildly inconsistent, a change that was likely linked to opening a second restaurant, Velavevodetto ai Quiriti in Prati. Service glitches and food failures became increasingly common, which isn’t unusual for a restaurant to suffer following expansion. Many readers and app users reported negative experiences–so I was concerned–but I remained optimistic that things would turn around.

Fast forward to December 2014 and Flavio al Velavevodetto has more than just rebounded. It has surpassed its earlier reputation and is one of the few places in Rome that manages to maintain an extremely high level of quality, both in its raw ingredients and its final dishes. Meat comes from the restaurant’s own herds and flocks, while seasonal vegetables are cultivated on their land in northern Lazio. Ingredients are transformed into superb Roman classics like polpette di bollito (fried disks of shredded beef), tonnarelli cacio e pepe (fresh pasta with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper), rigatoni alla carbonara, rigatoni alla gricia (pasta with guanciale, Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper), fettucine con rigaglie di pollo (fettucine with chicken innards), coda alla vaccinara (oxtail braised with tomato and celery), coratella di manzetta maremanna (veal heart, lungs and liver), and trippa alla romana (tripe cooked with tomato, Roman mint and Pecorino Romano), just to name a few of the menu’s many highlights. The wine selection is wonderful, with a healthy number of quality organic wines from Lazio, plus some interesting natural wines from other Italian regions, which are well-suited to the cucina romana.

Throw in a historic setting (the restaurant is based inside the Monte dei Cocci, an ancient Roman archeological site) and Flavio al Velavevodetto is pretty close to perfect. There are still occasional missteps, especially regarding the service. As a regular, I don’t experience many of the shortcomings app users and readers have cited in recent emails to me, but last week, a €6 vegetable side dish, which was aggressively over-salted, appeared on the final bill after we reported it was inedible. Regardless of these occasional service glitches, the food and atmosphere are stellar and Flavio and his team are doing some of the finest cucina romana anywhere. Bump it to the top of your Rome dining list, if it’s not already there.

Hi Katie! 🙂 I was one of those raving about Flavio a couple of years ago (one of the reasons for that was, I guess, that it was a sort of Felice but without the difficulty to get a table :-). I hadn’t been at Flavio’s for a couple of years then I went back in september, and I must say that everything was actually better – the service, the ingredients, the cooking – then I remembered. So obviously they are learning – and growing – well, which makes me very happy 🙂

Flavio is still inconsistent in my book. I have had fantastic meals at this restaurant, but after last summer, I do not think I will return. Service was terrible (my standards are not high) and the food ranged from above mediocre (the mixed antipasto of Lazio treats featured some tasty items) to unacceptable (a coagulated plate of “carbonara,” overcooked sea bass). Not worth the price. You will be much better served walking a few blocks over to Da Severino, a little known, overlooked trattoria featuring traditional plates not often seen on menus in Rome.

Our first (and so far only) visit was a hit and miss. Granted it was a busy Sunday pranzo but that’s the business these folks choose. After our second plates came out, a cook walked through and announced the kitchen was CLOSED. Some dishes were excellent, some were very good and others just OK. Servers were a little frazzled too, perhaps they need to hire more help?

I went to this restaurant after hearing that it was one of the best eateries in Rome and was extremely disappointed with both the meal and the wine. It’s good to know that the restaurant was going through a rocky patch and is now back to serving great food. I’ll have to try it again!

So after a couple of years of reading all the hype about Flavio al Velavevodetto my husband and I decided to forgo a lunch at Felice to finally try this restaurant. It was good, but I would not say great- and certainly their Caccio e Pepe is not superior to that of Felice. We have been eating @ Felice for years and I have never been served food that wasn’t completely fresh. We splint a second course and the potatoes had to have been a couple of days old. Bottom line- will not return.

After doing my research for good restaurants in Rome, including this blog… I decided to try Flávio (at Testaccio) I actually just left the restaurant….
First of all, the location was 30 min from my hotel ( I was close to the Vatican) so I got a taxi. When the taxi arrived in the area, was actually scared with the ugly neighborhood but I thought it was one of those hidden gems and I went in.
Even though I had a reservation, they put me in the back room. No personality, just some tables in a room that looked like my garage. It’s their back patio and they have those mechanical iron roof that I believe they open in the summer…
Plus it was a cold rainy day and the roof had some openings that allowed wind to get in so I asked to be moved to the main portion of the restaurant but they said they were full with reservations.
Well… I had a reservation!!!!
Then I asked if they had wifi, (coming from the US, I didn’t want to use my data so always convenient to have wifi). They said they had but only in the main room, not in the back where I was…
So I felt like bad… Here I am feeling cold and no wifi so I am hoping this is the best food I ever had.
So I ordered the bread ball, the waiter understand I wanted the fried zucchini so I tried the zucchini thinking if I liked I wouldn’t complain…
The zucchini was cold!!!! Then I told the waiter he made a mistake and he brought me the fried bread ball that was good!! Nothing out of this world but good!
The prosciutto seemed very fresh…
Oh btw I went to the bathroom after my appetizer and I saw couple open tables in the main room…
I ordered their cheese and pepper since I read it was their speciality but had so much pepper that I couldn’t take it. I returned and Offered to pay for it.
Then I ordered a carbonara, it was good… But it got cold really fast since I was seating in a very cold room.
Good food but Disappointing experience overall.
In their defense, my waiter was nice.. He said he tried to put me inside but the manager said they had reservations.
So I just feel that this restaurant became one of those that got some publicity and now don’t care about making people happy anymore.